Feeling Silly?

I already had today's post mapped out in my mind, but after waking up and checking my email I changed my mind. My husband sent me this article about Silly Bandz. As I was reading it, in the next room my children were organizing their bands by color and then by which ones they liked the most. Once we were ready to head out the door to meet friends at the park, my son especially was loaded down with his bands!

Now, I am going to brag about my son and daughter. The two friends they met at the park did not have bands, so my son gave them each 1. 1+1=2. 2 silly bands gone from his original collection of 45, which left him with 43 bands. My daughter also gave 2 bands away, but she wasn't keeping track like my son was - I think he has a new fascination with numbers. They excite him so much. On to the library, where my children noticed the three librarians didn't have silly bands. Grant says "Mom, I gave 3 bands to the librarians" and I (the wonderful homeschooling mom I am ) said "43-3=40". Then, on to the grocery store, where we ran into the sweetest elderly couple who had volunteered last week serving snacks at VBS. Of course my children had to stop and talk with them (since my kids are introverted homeschoolers who never get out of the house and aren't properly socialized) and give them each a silly band. Then Grant said, "MOM! 40-1=39". Wow. I was impressed.

I don't know if I was more impressed with the math lesson, or with both of my children's generous spirit? My heart really was bursting with pride and what's even better was that my children felt so great about sharing the Silly Bandz with those who didn't have any. Oh -- I almost forgot that on the way out of the store Grant ran into a friend's grandmother who (shocker) didn't have a band. The count went down to 38.

So, here are the reasons Silly Bandz blessed my family today:

1. They gave my children something to organize together this morning and trade with each other.
2. Silly Bandz provided a most valuable subtraction lesson for my almost Kindergarten son.
3. Those crazy little rubber bands helped my children make connections with people in their community, and for this I am grateful.

I know a lot of people that resist the latest fads, and sometimes I can understand why. In this case, however, I'm all for it!